How First Semester Helped Me Become More Confident

When I boarded the plane to NYC on August 8, I had mixed feelings about leaving Colorado and heading to New York for college. I was worried about liking the school, making friends, if my relationship with Dylan would last, and if I would be able to handle being away from my friends and family. Although this semester certainly did not end how I expected it to, I must say overall I am happy with how my first semester of college went.

No, I did not end up liking FIT, and no Dylan and my relationship did not last, but I have always been the type of person to consider every "failure" a learning experience. Coming to college with aboyfriend back home taught me just how hard long distance relationships are and helped me to better define what's important in a relationship. Coming to FIT and deciding to transfer taught me just what is important to me in a school. I am one of the many college students who transfer schools and this comes as no surprise to me. When applying and choosing a college in high school it's so hard to really determine which school is the right one for you. I've always known that I wanted to study journalism, but was never clear on what sort of college I wanted to go to. Coming to FIT has made me realize that I am the sort of student who would better thrive in a university than a career-based college like FIT.

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Most of all, I am thankful for this semester on my own in NYC because it has helped me to grow as an individual. Back in high school I had to always be surrounded by my friends and constantly involved others in what ever I was doing. Here in NYC, I do enjoy spending time with the amazing friends I've made, but I also have learned that I can do things on my own. It was a huge adjustment to move to NYC and not be able to call up one of my friends to accompany me every time I had to run an errand, but I adjusted and this has made me more confident in myself. Plus, having time to myself has allowed me to reflect on who I am and who I want to become. Thanks to this, even with the craziness that has been my first college semester, I can say with certainty that I am happy with myself and the choices I've made so far regarding the path to my future.

Some people may say that I wasted away my first semester since I am transferring schools, but I disagree. Besides what I learned academically, this first semester has taught me a lot about myself—and I couldn't be happier about that!

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